A new annual list will name 100 Latino and Hispanic leaders shaping cannabis around the world. Nominations open Friday; anyone can submit one, including for themselves, and nominees can live anywhere.
Who are the Latino leaders cannabis should be paying attention to?
Maybe it is a founder building a company in California. Maybe it is a scientist advancing research in Brazil, a cultivator preserving genetics in Colombia, an advocate rewriting policy in Mexico, a physician expanding access in Argentina, or an organizer whose work has never once made a headline.
High Times, the National Hispanic Cannabis Council and El Planteo are launching the inaugural Latino Power 100 in Cannabis, a new annual list recognizing 100 Latino and Hispanic leaders whose work is moving cannabis forward worldwide.
The list is deliberately broader than the usual roster of founders, CEOs and familiar names from the U.S. industry. It will consider entrepreneurs and executives, and also cultivators, scientists, policymakers, advocates, healthcare professionals, educators, investors, journalists, marketers, retailers, manufacturers and community leaders. Impact takes different shapes in different countries, and the point is to find it wherever it lives.
“Representation has the power to change what people believe is possible. The inaugural Latino Power 100 gives us a moment to look across our industry and recognize the Latino leaders who are creating businesses, driving culture, advancing policy, building communities, and opening doors for the next generation. I’m deeply proud to see this vision become a reality. When we name our leaders, we strengthen their impact and remind the world that Latino power is cannabis power.”
Susie Plascencia, Executive Director of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council and Founder of Latinas in Cannabis
Not a Popularity Contest
There is an obvious problem with lists like this. The most visible people are not always the ones having the greatest impact.
The Latino Power 100 was built with that problem in mind. Nominations are not votes, and the people who receive the most of them do not automatically make the list. Eligible nominations run through a standardized framework weighing industry impact, leadership, community engagement, contributions to cannabis and credibility in the field, and commercial relationships, sponsorships and memberships do not influence selection. A review committee drawn from all three organizations evaluates them. Committee members are not eligible for the list while they serve on it, anyone with a direct conflict recuses, and High Times retains final editorial approval over anything published under its name. The full criteria are published on the nomination page.
Commercial relationships, sponsorships, memberships and organizational affiliations do not influence selection. A review committee drawn from all three organizations evaluates the nominations. Committee members are not eligible for the list while they serve on it, and anyone with a direct conflict involving a nominee recuses from that review. High Times retains final editorial approval over anything published under its name.
Global by Design
This is not a U.S. list with a few Latin American names attached. The organizers are actively looking for leaders whose work is better known in Bogotá, São Paulo, Buenos Aires or Mexico City than in Denver or Los Angeles, and Brazil counts as fully as any Spanish-speaking country.
That is a large part of why El Planteo, a cannabis and culture publication with roots across Latin America, joined the project. The nomination page runs in English and Spanish.
“The National Hispanic Cannabis Council is proud to join High Times and El Planteo in recognizing standout Latino leaders. Cannabis prohibition has long discriminated against Latinos worldwide. In the past decades, Latinos have seized power back and become some of the most important leaders in dismantling prohibition and building a sustainable, just cannabis economy.”
Brian Vicente, Founder of NHCC and Founding Partner of Vicente LLP
Who Should Be Nominated?
The test is not how famous someone is. It is what changed because of their work.
Who created an opportunity that did not exist before? Who changed a law, or fought a bad one? Who built something that lasted? Who expanded scientific understanding, access or education? Who strengthened a community? Who brought a new voice, idea or product into cannabis? And who has been doing the work for years without anyone outside their city noticing?
Nominees must be at least 21, identify as Latino, Latina, Latinx or Hispanic, and have made meaningful contributions to the legal cannabis industry or the cannabis movement. If selected, they will be asked to provide a rights-cleared image and confirm permission to publish. Images are optional at the nomination stage, and nobody should be uploading photography they do not have the rights to.
The inaugural Latino Power 100 will be announced during Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month.
Editor’s note: High Times is a partner in the Latino Power 100 alongside the National Hispanic Cannabis Council and El Planteo, and participates in the review committee. This article announces an initiative High Times is involved in.
